Permissibility of the Reverse Burden of Proof and its Limits in Criminal Proceedings in the Context of the Presumption of Innocence

This publication explores the limits of admissibility of the reverse burden of proof in criminal proceedings. To determine these limits, the reverse burden of proof is tested vis-à-vis the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings. In searching for answers to the advanced question, the Latvian criminal procedural regulation is analysed in the context of the findings made in the Latvian and foreign theory of criminal procedure law, fundamental rights enshrined in the Satversme [Constitution] of the Republic of Latvia and the case law of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia, as well as international legal regulation and case law of the European Court of Human Rights.